Zach Gonzalez, an 18-year-old boy, is admitted to rehab for alcoholism. Zach remembers little of his past and feels very averse to the treatment he is supposed to receive. The novel explores deep topics pertaining to mental illness such as depression and anxiety which is expressed through Zach’s time in rehabilitation. Through his time, Zach is able to converse with other adults in rehab which include mostly older adults unlike himself as a young adult. Zach takes a liking to one man, Rafael, who becomes a figure of hope and stability in Zach’s life.
Having never experienced life in a rehab center I cannot speak to the authenticity or veracity of the setting Benjamin Alire Sáenz creates in, Last Night I Sang To The Monster. 18 year-old Zach is an alcoholic who comes out of a black out in a treatment center with no memory of how he got there. I can say the novel is populated by memorable characters who are engaged in emotionally resonant relationships in a visceral setting.
When Junior announces that he wants to attend the white school off the reservation he is not only ostracized, but tormented by his own people. As he dips one foot into the strange world of white people and keeps the other firmly planted on the reservation he feels torn between the better life he glimpses at his new school and the life he has always known.
